Bare Necessities
by SSAEmilyHotchner
Summary: Twoshot. After a long and hard case, Hotch seems depressed and Emily visits him to see what's wrong and offer some comfort like only she can. Rated T just in case.
1. Part One: Crossing Lines

Author's Note: In this story, Foyet only kills brunette women in their mid-30s, not both men and women. Also, Foyet doesn't have a personal vendetta against Hotch, so he never attacked him, and Hotch didn't kill Foyet. He was taken into custody where he DOES NOT escape. In other words, Haley doesn't die.  
Just thought it would be helpful to explain. (:

Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds.

* * *

Blood.

That was the first thing he saw as he entered the relatively small hotel room.

Then he saw her body, the dark crimson blood gruesomely standing out against her pale, porcelain skin. Her body was twisted in an unnatural position, the only explanation being broken bones.

Her long eyelashes cast small shadows against her cheeks in the dim light, her lips parted slightly, and noticeably pale.

If you looked closer, you could make out each of her stab wounds.

Nine. Foyet had stabbed her nine times.

Had stabbed Emily nine times.

~.~.~

Aaron Hotchner was pulled out of his macabre reverie by a knock on the hotel room door. He checked the digital clock on the bed-side table. Nine o'clock.

Standing up from his location on the well-worn couch by the bed, he walked over to the door and looked through the peephole.

It was Emily.

Pulling the door open, he was greeted by her sweet, warm smile. He smiled back slightly, but it didn't reach his eyes. Emily noticed. Leaning against the doorframe, she sighed and said softly, "Hey. Can I come in?"

He chuckled quietly and said, "Yeah. Make yourself at home." He watched as she moved around the small room, looking for a place to sit. God, she was beautiful. Even in the simplest outfits, she always managed to look like a model. She wore faded dark blue jeans and a plain white button-down blouse. Her hair was down and curling slightly. Beautiful. She settled for sitting at the end of the bed, her deep brown eyes following him as he moved to sit beside her.

"So…" he started.

She sighed again. "Hotch…I know that this case hit you hard. Hell, the whole team knows." She paused, her eyes searching his. "You could get lost in those eyes," Aaron thought briefly. When she spoke again, her voice was softer, "What's wrong?"

For a few seconds he just looked at her, determining whether or not he should tell her. It had been a tough case for all of them, and the whole team deserved some rest. The fact that Emily had chosen to come to his room, to talk to him, to comfort him, instead of getting some valuable sleep…that meant that she was serious. And if he knew Emily Prentiss, he was pretty sure that she wouldn't give up. She'd find out either way. It was his time to sigh. Looking away from her, he said tentatively, "It's Foyet's victimology," he paused, looking for a way to continue.

"Women in their mid-30's, tall, brunette, brown eyes…abnormally beautiful in a way…what about the victimology?" Emily asked, curiosity etched in her features.

When he looked up at her, he looked her straight in the eyes and said, "Do you know who you just described?" Not giving her a chance to reply, he answered his own question. "You. Every time we found a body, I kept seeing Foyet standing over you, stabbing you over and over…I couldn't deal with it, Emily! …I'm just as good at compartmentalization as you are, but something like this…" he let his voice drift into silence.

Emily was shocked. Not because of what Aaron had just told her; that was shocking, yes, and slightly disconcerting. But this was Aaron Hotchner. This was their brave, daring, stoic leader. And right now his façade, his emotionless mask, was slipping. And slipping fast. It was frightening to see him like that. To see him in such a vulnerable state. She reached out and put her hand on his. If there was a line between professional and personal, they were on the border of crossing it. But she didn't really care. She'd be lying if she said that she didn't have feelings for this man. Because despite how cold hearted he could be she knew that inside, he was a person who would stop at nothing to protect his family. And that's what they were. The BAU was their own unbiological family.

It always felt nice to know that there was at least one person who cared about you.

~.~.~

Unconsciously, Aaron turned his hand over, palm facing hers, and laced their fingers together. He looked at Emily, and saw that she was watching him. Her eyes widened slightly, but not by much. He leaned closer, hardly two inches of space between them.

"Thank you," he said sincerely. "Just the fact that you're here…it means a lot. I…" his voice broke.

She didn't want to see him like this. It hurt her to see someone she cared about in this position, especially Hotch. The last thing that crossed her mind was, "To hell with this." She closed the distance between them, and pressed her lips lightly against his, their hands still held together, fingers still entwined. She was about to pull away when she felt Aaron's hand on the small of her back, holding her body to his. Oxygen soon became a necessity, and they pulled back away from each other, albeit reluctantly.

"Hotch…Aaron…" Emily said breathlessly.

"Emily, I…I'm not sure now is the best time to say this, but I've had feelings for you, and over time, they just became stronger, and I-"

Emily silenced him with another chaste kiss. "I know. It's the same with me." She laughed softly, "Ever since you stopped by my apartment and asked me to come on the plane to Milwaukee and do that case with you, even after the whole Strauss ordeal…I guess that confirmed it."

He smiled. Actually smiled. Bringing her in for another kiss, he murmured against her lips, "So beautiful…" He felt her smile against his lips as she brought her arms around his neck. One brief thought that flashed through his mind was that he needed this. Needed her, like every living thing needs oxygen. She was his sun, he realized. It was always Emily that offered him comfort after hard cases. It was always her that he paired himself with, because not only did her need her intellectual insight…he needed _her._

Without thinking, his hands went to the collar of her blouse, undoing the top button. Expecting resistance from her, he paused for a moment. But when Emily's hands slid to the front of his shirt, he smiled slightly and continued. All of a sudden, Emily stopped, tensing almost unperceptively.

"What's wrong, Emily?" His voice was just a little husky from their early activities.

Pulling back so that she could look at him properly, she whispered, "What are we doing, Aaron?" The name sounded almost foreign against her lips; he was always Hotch, almost never Aaron, even outside of the job. "The BAU…fraternization…" she continued.

"Screw the FBI and the fraternization rules. Look me in the eyes Emily, and tell me to stop, and I will." He paused. "But I think we both know…despite the job, despite everything…I doubt that this is a onetime thing."

They looked at each other then, and Aaron realized that the intensity of emotion that was most likely showing in his eyes was mirrored in Emily's.

And that was a very, very good thing.


	2. Part Two: Something Good

Author's Note: Well, here's Part Two! Sorry for the really long wait, and thanks for being patient. Also, thanks so much to my readers for all the kind reviews; they really make my day! (: Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I (very unfortunately) do not own Criminal Minds.

* * *

Aaron woke up to the sound of his bedside alarm. He quickly shut it off, not wanting the woman lying beside him to wake. Smiling, he looked down at Emily, sleeping in his arms. For a few minutes, he just watched her sleep. She looked…peaceful. "That's good," he thought. "After everything we see every day, at least she gets the comfort of resting without being plagued by nightmares." Paying attention to every detail of her beautiful sleeping form, he took in the way her chest rose and fell with every breath…then he began to notice other things. The way her perfect lips were swollen almost imperceptively with his kisses. Looking away for just a second, he glanced around the room. Seeing their clothes strewn over the couch and floor, he smirked slightly. Last night had been…amazing, to say the least. How many months, no, how many _years_ had he wanted to tell her, _show her_, how he felt? Too many to count. To put it bluntly…she completed him. When he was around Emily, he felt a way he hadn't felt for a long, long time.

He felt loved.

~.~.~

"Aaron…?" Emily murmured, being awakened by the feeling of fingers lightly tracing random patterns on her skin.

"Hey," he whispered, kissing her softly and smiling against her lips as he heard her breathe a sigh. Unconsciously, vivid memories of last night's events flashed before him. The way she had said his name like a prayer, the way their bodies had molded together until they were like one, the way her silky hair had fallen off her shoulders and covered them from the outside world like a curtain…the way she responded to every single touch he gave…and the way she had managed to find her way into his heart and secure her place there…everything about her drove him crazy. She was just too beautiful…and she was his.

"Hellooo…Aaron?" her laugh was husky, almost seductive, as she looked him in the eyes. "Where were you?"

Moving into a seating position and pulling her with him, he buried his face in her hair and pressed a kiss to her collarbone. He just couldn't get enough of her… "I was just thinking about last night and how amazing you are."

That caused her to smile playfully. "I think you're forgetting just how much of a key player you were in last night's activities…Mr. Hotchner," she said, casually running her fingers through his hair. After a few minutes, he couldn't take it any longer. He groaned and said, "Stop it, Emily," pulling her hand out of his hair and entwining their fingers together. "I swear, if you had continued with that any longer, we would've had a repeat of last night."

Emily smiled slyly. "And if that's what I want?"

He returned her smile with a mischievous one of his own. "Then I am greatly underestimating your capabilities, Ms. Prentiss," he shot back, mocking her by imitating her use of his last name.

Glancing at the clock, she raised one eyebrow, then laughed.

"What's funny?" Aaron asked, confused.

"Nothing really…it's just that, we have to be down in the lobby in forty-five minutes, or else the team will be wondering what happened to us."

"What happened _between_ us, you mean? After all, we work with profilers; they're bound to find out someday," he stated, getting out of bed and handing Emily her clothes.

"Hey! Stop underestimating me! I'm the daughter of a politician; you don't think I can hide things?"

That comment struck him as extremely hilarious, and he couldn't help but laugh. Emily joined in, then quickly dressed up, heading for his hotel room door. "See you in a few minutes?" she asked.

"Yeah." He pulled her close to him, and just held her. His voice visibly softened. "Thank you, Emily. For…everything."

She kissed him once more before whispering, "No, Aaron. Thank you." Then she walked out of the room, shutting the door quietly behind her.

~.~.~

An hour later, the whole team, with the exception of Garcia, who had stayed in Virginia for the case, was sitting at a round table in the corner of a neighboring café. Everyone was "listening" to Reid as he rambled on about the compatibility of pancakes and chocolate syrup, compared to waffles and chocolate syrup. JJ, who was seated next to Emily, was able to escape when she received a call from Will, her face lighting up whenever he mentioned Henry. Emily and Aaron, seated across from each other, talked casually as if nothing between them had changed. Morgan continued doing what he did best; alternating between teasing Reid and teasing Emily. "The two nerds," he called them, to which Emily always replied, "Hey! We are nerdy and proud of it! What's your point, Derek?", while Reid would be in the back laughing as hard as his body would allow. Dave just sat there watching everyone, every once and a while commenting on something that was said, his tired eyes crinkling in amusement as Hotch tried stealing a strawberry from Emily, but was caught and playfully slapped. They were exactly like a family. Ironically, Hotch and Emily were the mom and dad. Other than Rossi, they were the oldest and most experienced, and they had to constantly keep the younger ones in line. With Morgan as the troublesome older brother, their job was sometimes extremely difficult. JJ was the quiet and sweet older sister, who was always there for younger brother Reid. Garcia was the eccentric aunt who always hung out with them, and Dave was Hotch's brother; whether he was there physically or not, he was always around to watch over the others. Sometimes, they switched roles. Emily was JJ's mentor and they were best friends. Almost sisters. Sometimes Morgan was Emily's teasing older brother; not by a lot, but by enough years to constantly get on each other's nerves. Like Emily was to JJ, Aaron was Reid's mentor, and Dave was (sometimes) Aaron's. Over all, they all loved each other. Some more than others. Aaron looked up to see Emily looking at him. She gave him a shy smile, then turned to JJ, who had called her attention to Henry's new baby pictures.

Yeah. Aaron Hotchner was hopelessly in love with Emily Prentiss. And she was irrevocably in love with him as well.

Sometimes, things just happen to work out perfectly.

~.~.~

After breakfast was finished, and conversations wound down, Aaron caught up with Emily as they walked back to the bureau SUVs.

"Hey," she said, giving him one of her sweetest smiles.

"Hey. So…when we get back to Quantico, would you like to have dinner with me?" he asked, smiling.

She looked at him and said, "Of course! That would be great!" Aaron breathed a sigh of relief which he hadn't realized he'd been holding. Emily looked at him in shock. "What, you thought I was going to say no?"

He shrugged, the corners of his mouth trying to suppress his smile. "Hey, things change. For all I know, you could've met some really handsome guy on our last day here, and he could have stolen your heart."

"…Actually, I did." Emily said, in a matter-of-a-fact tone of voice.

"What?" Aaron asked, his fingers faltering and almost dropping the keys. "Was she serious?" he thought.

"Yeah…want to know who?" she said, walking up to the passenger side door and waiting for him to unlock it.

Weakly, Aaron asked, "Do I?"

All Emily did was smile. "Yeah. The really handsome man who stole my heart? That's you."

He looked at her and smiled. Of course she would trick him like that. "Well, you know what?"

"Hmm?" she replied, tilting her head slightly, a flirty smile adorning her perfect features.

Closing the distance between them, he whispered, "You stole my heart first." Then, not caring who saw them, he kissed her, and he made sure that every emotion that he felt for her was conveyed through that one kiss. And it worked. She kissed him back just as lovingly, and as they reluctantly pulled away from each other, they knew that no matter what happened, they would always have someone to be there for them.

~.~.~

As the others stood in the parking lot and watched Aaron and Emily's embrace, Derek broke the silence. "…Well, that was kind of unexpected." Still, he couldn't suppress the smile that spread; they really were perfect for each other.

JJ smiled triumphantly. "I knew it! I knew it! HA! I _so_ knew that they had feelings for each other!" She was overjoyed. Her best friend and mentor had finally gotten someone she deserved; who better than Hotch? They were absolutely perfect together. Turning to Reid, she opened her mouth to talk but he interrupted her.

"Jayje, please don't say it…"

"Spence, I was right! You owe me twenty-five dollars!"

"Fine…"

Dave laughed at their altercation, then cleared his throat and said, "Maybe something good came out of this case after all."

And as they all looked back towards Aaron and Emily, who were holding each other close like a lifeline, they couldn't help but agree.


End file.
